With a first edition in 2017 and a second round in 2018, Q3A has hosted 53 artists from 17 different countries, and takes place at Fabrik Potsdam, near the world-famous film town Babelsberg, less than an hour away from Berlin.

From avant-garde to pop, Q3A is a mirror to the eclectic architecture of Potsdam, from neo-classical palaces to prefabricated ‘Plattenbauten’ (slab buildings). These Communist-era buildings gave its name to Q3A, which is an abbreviation for ‘Querwandbau‘ (cross-wall construction). Q3A seeks to explore the cultural and musical impact of East German heritage, a theme which has been fundamental to the creative concept behind CEEYS’ album and photography projectWaende.

The photographs featured on this website were taken by Diane Barbé, exploring the visual and cultural influence of East German architecture. Images feature the unique superimpositions of neoclassical and socialist architecture in Potsdam, and hint as well to its international dimension with photographs taken on Zanzibar island, off the coast of Tanzania, where DDR teams of engineers were sent in the 1960s to experiment building ‘Plattenbauten’ in tropical contexts.